Some users signed up to the Google app beta channel have been receiving an unusual "alpha" release of v6.13 update. It's not entirely clear if this was meant to find its way into the wild, and judging by many inoperable and buggy issues, I suspect it wasn't. All the same, it's out and contains some pretty interesting things. To begin with, this version enables some features that had previously been seen in testing like a page of recent search topics and lite mode. There is also a process to add payment information for use with Google Assistant. Diving into a teardown brings back some previously seen features and adds a couple of new ones to the list.

Be careful about installing the apk

Before you rush to install this one, be warned that this version may cause unexpected and undesirable behavior. For example, I had pretty serious problems on my Pixel, including an obviously broken nav drawer (pictured above) and a feed that was empty and stuck on the refreshing animation. Meanwhile, everything seemed to work perfectly on my Nexus 6P. Even some of the features that are about to be covered outside of the teardown appear to be only partially operational. The point is, you probably don't actually want to install this yet, but it's there if you want to give it a shot.

Note: It seems these issues mostly clear up by tapping the search bar, then tapping the Back button or anywhere that will cancel out of the search. This works until the next reboot. – Thanks, Juan Diaz.

Holy cow, this version can also enable Google Assistant on non-Pixel phones

Enables Google Assistant on non-Pixels

Whoa, seriously, it's working on devices that aren't supposed to have Google Assistant yet. The screenshots above were taken on a Nexus 6P (running Android 7.1.1) and a Samsung Galaxy Note5 (running Android 6.0.1). After installing v6.13, the Google Assistant can be enabled by holding the Home button as if to launch Now on Tap. A dialog will be displayed with the message "New! You just got the Google Assistant" and begin the setup process for voice training.

Of the people on our team that have tried this, about half of them are getting it to work, while the other half are still seeing Now on Tap. We're still not sure which factors control this, but it seems very likely to be tied to individual accounts. We've seen at least one Nexus 6P get Assistant with this method and one that didn't, so it's not tied to devices. There's a chance settings or other app versions may be contributing factors.

Be aware, this could mean plenty of things, not all of them have to do with Google Assistant coming to non-Pixels. This appears to be an alpha release and may have been intentionally configured to enable Google Assistant for testing purposes on the phones of Googlers that do not own / use Pixels. On the other hand, this could be the clear sign that Assistant will be rolling out to everybody when v6.13 becomes official (or maybe even beta). This would certainly be consistent with text from the teardowns. Regardless, there are explanations for any possibility, so don't rush to any assumptions yet.

Well, that didn't last too long. It's likely Google didn't intend to roll out Assistant functionality for non-Pixel phones yet (if at all). Anywhere from a few hours to a day later, Assistant functionality would disappear on most devices automatically. Since this article went live, it seems Google also remotely disabled the functionality, so it no longer works on phones after updating to v6.13.

This still doesn't say anything significant about the future of Google Assistant on all Android devices, only that Google has at least tested it to some extent. The teardown evidence is still the stronger indicator that more devices will get it eventually. As usual, we'll keep an eye out for more details.

End of Update

What's New

Recent topics and Lite mode

If you think back to mid-December, you may remember an article about some features in testing. They were turning up in the Google app for a small group of users, but they were enabled remotely. It looks like the Offline Search capabilities have already been made live, but the Recent page and Lite mode are also showing up. Above is the tutorial / explanation for the Recent page, and below is its location in the nav drawer and a setting to allow users to turn it off or on if they desire.

Then comes Lite mode, a fairly standard proxy mode tool that reformats web pages and images to consume less data and load more quickly. The status of Lite mode is shown in the nav drawer, but you have to enter the setting page to switch it on or off. This first turned up in a teardown back in October.

In my brief test, neither of these features actually worked for me in any obvious way. The Recent page seems to contain nothing more than the tutorial, regardless of how much searching I've done. I assume this is probably because Google has to enable each account to be able to collect and process data to be shown here, and mine hasn't been selected yet.

Payments in Google Assistant

There is one feature that is definitely working in this update: setting up a payment method to use with Google assistant. But the catch is that there's probably nothing to do with it quite yet. Evidence that Google assistant would be able to make purchases on your behalf has been around for a long time, and Google confirmed it back in December, so this isn't much of a revelation. However, this is the first time the setup flow has been visible. To be fair, it's basically the screens you see above, plus a couple more for choosing one of your credit cards on file or adding a new one.

However, there is an interesting detail in the terms of service screen: it explicitly includes a section for Google Express, Google's localized shopping and delivery service. While it's not inherently surprising this would become a service available for use with Google Home and other Assistant-enabled devices, it's a little surprising to see it mentioned so prominently.

Teardown

Disclaimer: Teardowns are based on evidence found inside of apks (Android's application package) and are necessarily speculative and usually based on incomplete information. It's possible that the guesses made here are totally and completely wrong. Even when predictions are correct, there is always a chance that plans could change or may be canceled entirely. Much like rumors, nothing is certain until it's officially announced and released.

The features discussed below are probably not live yet, or may only be live for a small percentage of users. Unless stated otherwise, don't expect to see these features if you install the apk.

Assistant on more phones

Most of us already assume Google Assistant will appear on more phones at some point. It couldn't remain an exclusive forever. Now there are a few new strings that leave little room to doubt that. A series of tips and upgrade notes have been added that will inform users that their "Android phone just got better" because they can now "try the Google Assistant" by holding down the home button.

code

<string-array name="opa_tooltip_promo_notification_content">
<item>Touch &amp; hold the Home button to get help</item>
<item>Hold down the Home button to start</item>
<item>Hold down the Home button to start</item>
</string-array>
<string-array name="opa_tooltip_promo_notification_title">
<item>Try your Google Assistant</item>
<item>Try your new Google Assistant</item>
<item>Your new Assistant is ready</item>
</string-array>
<string-array name="opa_upgrade_promo_notification_content">
<item>Ask it questions &amp; tell it to do things</item>
<item>Tap to get started</item>
<item>Tap to get started</item>
<item>Tap to set up your Google Assistant</item>
</string-array>
<string-array name="opa_upgrade_promo_notification_title">
<item>New! Try the Google Assistant</item>
<item>New! Try the Google Assistant</item>
<item>Meet your Google Assistant</item>
<item>Your Android phone got better</item>
</string-array>

It's obvious from the phrasing that this is intended for devices that didn't have Google Assistant previously. That could mean Assistant is only destined for Nexus devices, but it's far more likely Google is planning to replace the old voice assistant with the new one. This actually leads into the next topic.

Assistant "App"

Some people would like a different way to launch the Google Assistant. Most of us probably rely on a long-press of the Home button or have our phones set to always listen. There are still some people that would prefer to have an icon on the home screen or may even use automation tools like Tasker to launch it. Well, that's about to happen.

The proof is pretty simple, there's a new image that obviously matches Google's new theme of rounded launcher icons, and a string with the subtitle text for the homescreen.

<string name="opa_launcher_icon_text">Assistant</string>

Download pages for offline search results

Offline search became widely available to users last month. It's a pretty neat idea and makes sense, but it seems like an unfinished solution. Sure, you can get search results when you pass into an area with suitable connectivity, but that doesn't really help if you go back out of service without checking on your search results and loading the next page. Now it's time for Google to solve that oversight.

A new behavior is going to be added to offline search that sets a device to not only download search results when connectivity is bad, it will also be able to dig into some of the top results and download the first pages, as well.

The lines above represent an option to switch this feature on or off, so you don't have to use this if you don't want to. However, the benefits are pretty obvious if you're regularly stuck in dead zones..

Keyboard input for Google Assistant

And the final section is something of a follow-up. Back in January, a few new lines of text strongly suggested Google Assistant will add support for keyboard input where there had only been voice input before. There wasn't much doubt about this to begin with, but some recent additions reinforce this one, making it a certainty in the future.

The new additions represent a setting that allows users to pick their preferred default mode: voice input or text entry.

That's about it for now, but keep an eye out for some of these things to appear when a beta or stable release lands.

Download

The APK is signed by Google and upgrades your existing app. The cryptographic signature guarantees that the file is safe to install and was not tampered with in any way. Rather than wait for Google to push this download to your devices, which can take days, download and install it just like any other APK.

Must be typical Google A/B testing, I'm just seeing it for the first time

EvoWizz

Well, I guess you're right.. never saw that before, and I still don't have it 😕

Dakoziol

Yeah, I've had that for a while. Definitely not new.

Merf

Those exclusives didn't last long. Which just makes the pixel price even less justifiable. I've found the Google assistant to be inferior to Google voice anyway. Despite it being one of the pixels supposed selling points, I don't recall it ever gaining any functionality since launch, while it still misses some of the basics like song recognition. Perhaps it's my accent but since launch I have found it quite infuriating to use in that I have to say ok Google 3-4 times to get it to register.

Kamran Mackey

If it has issues recognizing your voice, retrain the voice model. That might solve it, or if it doesn't, it might just be your accent.

Duder12

Sounds like you just hate life in general. Thanks for coming here to to spread your negativity. We knew someone was going to.

Juan Diaz

The undesirable behavior looks like owned by the launcher. In my Nexus 6P with Pixel launcher, looks similar like the images above the post. Changing from Pixel Launcher to Google Now Launcher, works fine.

Good catch, I'm updating the post with some details. It's not working for everybody, but it definitely worked for a few of us.

Jay

I sent you a present on APKMirror. You'll know what it is when you see it.

Tim Glaraton

Got Assistant on my 6P, but in the settings it still shows up as settings for 'this Pixel device' lol

Crystalcedwards

Google is paying 97$ per hour! Work for few hours & have longer with friends and family! !sh132c:
On tuesday I got a great new Land Rover Range Rover from having earned $8752 this last four weeks.. Its the most-financialy rewarding I've had.. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don’t check it
!sh132c:
➽➽
➽➽;➽➽ http://GoogleFinancialCashJobs432ShopBrainGetPaid$97/Hour... ★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫::::::!sw22c:....,......

Aritra

I have got an explanation! Remember a feature called "In Apps" search introduced in the Google app back when LG V20 was released, which was also featured specifically in LG V20 marketing materials. It could be that the AI that LG is touting in G6 is the Google Assistant after all and has somehow made an appearance in the wild. I guess Google Assistant will slowly make its way to all Androids just like In Apps search did.

Aritra

You can't make a call directly using voice command... the app crashes.

Google is paying 97$ per hour! Work for few hours & have longer with friends and family! !st121c:
On tuesday I got a great new Land Rover Range Rover from having earned $8752 this last four weeks.. Its the most-financialy rewarding I've had.. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don’t check it
!st121c:
➽➽
➽➽;➽➽ http://GoogleFinancialCashJobs421ShopAdviceGetPaid$97/Hour... ★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫★★★✫::::::!st121c:....,......

Jason Sevoian

Same

Jason Francisco

Yup that's exactly what happened to me.

Paden Rivers

So a lot of articles claimed updating to a certain version. Of Google play services would force the GA to take effect, I did that along with many others and nothing happened. But then I just cleared the cache FOR Google play services and Bam! I have GA.

Same dosent work for me too, Xiaomi redmi 3S. installed the ARM 64 version.... everything works except for G assistant

Joël Bonet Rodríguez

try x86_64 version from apkmirror, it worked for a friend. Cheers!

Hrithik

Same with me on redmi 3s prime

itsatrap

Didn't work. Moto X Style

CodeMonkey

The broken feed is not an alpha exclusive issue. Mines been broken for about a week - I'm in the beta but not running the alpha version mentioned. My feed's been jammed up through the last three updates to the app.

I've certainly heard of issues with the feed in regular conditions, but in this case, it was definitely the version causing the problem. Immediately after installing, I got the broken things in those screenshots. After downgrading to v6.12, everything worked fine. Then I re-updated to v6.13 and the breakage returned. If you look close, you'll even notice those shots were taken a few hours apart... They were each taken during the different attempts.

Juan Diaz

Tapping the search box and getting back then, shows the feed. At least works for me.

I have a LG Stylo 2 running android 6.0 and installed the apk. Held the home button and google assistant is now available on it. I'm interested in seeing how it compares to siri. This is going to be interesting and I hope google doesn't wait to long to enable it for everyone.

People who got it working on S7 Edge, what sort of setup are you running? (Launchers, search language, play services version etc) I wanna see if we can work out some sort of pattern

Dazzza

Works on N5 although it crashes if I try to send a text.

Matt

This alpha removes root from my phone

Joël Bonet Rodríguez

nice! xD
you must not use alpha or beta versions on a rooted device for obviously reasons, but if you like risk... (:

Andrew Palmer

Nexus 6P with a GSuite account here. No dice. I'm not surprised.

Peter

Yeah GSuite accounts are really crippled with Assistant :(

Andrew Palmer

Yeah in Allo it can't do anything for due to not having access to my account. Makes for a very shit 'personal assistant'.

It will ask for permission and you can grant it but when you try to search anything it says it needs access to your account.

I really wish Google created a way to convert from GSuite to GMail. I can't just create a new account as there is so much tied to this user account. Purchases of apps, movies and music.

Peter

I'm slowly migrating over to a gmail account. I have both accounts on my Pixel, but my next phone will just have gmail. It's annoying having to share 1000 photos at a time to the new account to copy them over. I have nearly 100,000 photos.

I will lose the movies, and my discounted music sub, but it's worth it i think.

Walter Sasam

Well, doesn't work on OnePlus 3T with OOS 4.0.3, rolling back for now

Yusuff Lockhat

Worked for me on my S6 Edge in South Africa, also showed settings for "this Pixel device". But it just worked twice, and then seemed to realise that it made a mistake and reverted back to Google NOW :(

Silviu Corpodeanu

Hi guys, I installed the app, Google assistant worked 2hours and then it disappeared from my Nexus 6p, has anyone else happened like this?

Morten Ulv

Yep. Worked on my 6P after a reboot. Now it's gone. They probably killed it server side.

Silviu Corpodeanu

My thoughts exactly, but it's kinda of sad

Morten Ulv

Yep. I really liked the little I got to test it.

Todd Larner

Same thing here with my 6P. Installed it, played with it, went to bed, woke up, Assistant now gone

Yuvraj Singh

I have Opportunity F1s smartphone . I didn't get Google Assistant . I have update my Google app

When I first installed this alpha build, I had the google assistant. But for some reason it disappeared after a few hours. Hope it reaches the stable and beta builds soon

trickytree1984

Still no assistant for me on OP3T

Nicolas K

No Google Assistant on my Nexus 6P

Murray

Still working for those that got it working? I read they've stopped it server side

Denis

yes, they did.

Murray

Damn. Thanks Denis

Marcel Frankiewicz

Not working (ARM64) (Nexus 5X)

Noeltorious

I'm on the stable release and I also get that weird blank Google Now page with Achievements in the slide out menu on my Pixel quite often when connected to my VPN. Started a day or two ago. Anyone know what there is to achieve? Haha

Alex Sharma

Didn't work on my LeEco LE2 instead I got a new option in voice settings home detection but I don't know what is that!

Tried on my Nexus 5X running android 7.1.2 beta. Didn't get it :(
In Sri Lanka Google Now is not available for everyone. Sometimes it says your country doesn't support. Any relations with that? But I activated Google Now with ticks and using it now. But didn't get GA :/

Dirge

Installed the arm build on my Nexus 6 but no assistant to be seen. Wonder if it's a server side switch?

coopere

It was about time Google let loose the Assistant instead of restricting it to the Pixel only. If Google was worried about sales, doubt very much this would hurt (availability is what's hurting sales anyway). But I also think that because Samsung and Nokia (and probably others) pushing their own assistants, Google has to do this to set the standard

Saiprasad sunny

holy cow*😂😂👌👍

Pâvàn CH Cøøl Héàrtzz

I have installed in my Moto x play of android 6.0.1, but the sad thing is I didn't get Google assistant.

Todd Larner

Installed it on my 6P last night around 7pm, had Assistant and played around with it for a bit. Woke up this morning and Assistant is gone.... Looks like it's controlled by a server side switch. Google giveth and Google taketh away 😕

I know that Google already disabled the Assistant on other devices server side, but when it was still working, was anybody able to use it on 5.11, or do you have to have the Now on Tap framework for the press and hold action to work?

So anyone experience this the following?
I installed the Alpha and it was to buggy for me. Uninstalled the update through play store and then updated it again to the beta I am in. As soon as I hit my home button it asked if I wanted to use Google Now Launcher or Pixel Launcher. I had the Pixel Launcher installed a while back before but uninstalled it.